Momento
by xxForgetYou
Summary: Moments pass. Things happen. For Arme, her life was a distant memory that she'd forgotten. Until something, or rather someone changed everything. LassxArme.
1. Chapter 1: Remember Me?

_**Disclaimer: I don't own GC or any of its rights, I just own my story plot and any other OCs.**_

**a/n: 'Sup. ****It's actually xxforgetme,**** but uh, my account is all glitched and is having major technical difficulties. So...I'm switching to this account. Sorry for any trouble! I WON'T be continuing Loveless on this account; however I still will be posting stories. :) Brief over to my profile for a fuller description.**

**This story just came to me one day...The title is 'moment' in Italian; I just thought it had a nice ring to it and went well with the plotline..dunno. I'm an instinctual person. I have impulses that I can't control. :3**

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. m o m e n t o .

_It was a haze of colours. Of white, black, grey, but mostly, red._

_She felt half-conscious, almost-drugged, body moving without her acquiescence._

_Faintly making out the shadows of people, she began to lurch towards them, tripping over blurry, undefined objects that lay - hazardous in the dirt. The slightest notion that she there was something wrong with the way she was seeing things, why there was this burn in her eyes – like unsated thirst, or why she had this feeling of being here, but yet – not here tinged in her mind for a second, before she wiped it away. _

_She only had one goal. And it lay ahead of her._

_Two people. She didn't see their faces. She didn't hear the pleading voice of someone familiar._

_She only felt the white burn of the mechanical dog tattoo that had the inscription 'vessel' underneath it in calligraphy._

_She only felt this need to lift this large, unfamiliar sword and bring it down, again and again before she smelt the reek of death._

_In this world, she was numb. She felt nothing. _

_Until she woke up._

x x x

She blinked.

Once, twice and three times before she felt a stab of regret punch her fully in the face.

Arme had the tugging urgency that something bad had happened, but she couldn't remember what. She let out a frustrated cry and punched her pillow, snuffling loudly before standing up and padding her way towards the kitchen.

It was the same routine every day. She has a nightmare, she remembers it just the _second _before she wakes up and then when her eyes open she instantly forgets it. Wasn't this just a bit out of the ordinary?

Especially the nagging feeling that she always had after she woke up, the unbearably painful feeling that someone close to her had just gone?

Somehow, this reminded her about her parents.

She bit her lip, shaking her head with fervour, as if trying to clear her head from all these conflicting thoughts that seemed to jab its way into her mind without permission.

Couldn't she just _forget _about her parents? She didn't even know them, for crying out loud. Wanting to remember, wanting to forget. It was vicious cycle.

She blearily got out her toothbrush and worked up a mouth of minty foam. Staring at her matted hair in the mirror, she attempted to brush the purple knots out, failing miserably.

'Hi, hi!' A cheerful voice blared in her ear and she jumped back, spitting white bubbles everywhere.

'Geez, Elesis. How many times do I have to tell you, don't startle me after I've had a nightmare?' Her voice sounded dull, lifeless and horrible.

She was adamant that the unknown mechanical dog that she was sure played a part in her parents death would be locked away, sealed and forgotten, in the depths of her mind. Rubbing the tattoo, she plastered a smile on her face.

The red-haired, outgoing girl was one of the few friends she had and was actually the real owner to Mo, the white/brown, adorable dog that Arme absolutely loved. Elesis didn't really have a thing for dogs, and Mo detested the red-head, so the dog was partially hers as well.

'A nightmare again?' The girl snorted and patted her on the back. 'Drink some of that tea you love so much and you'll be fine.'

A muffled agreement came from Arme, who was snuggling into Mo's soft fur. The puppy yipped quietly, but when Elesis came to pat her head, it growled and snapped at her fingers.

'Mean, as always.' Elesis looked downcast, but brightened up instantly. 'I'm going to go practice now, okay?'

Arme sighed.

'Aww, the aspiring swordswoman strikes again. I'm not _that _fragile, so you don't have to protect me.'

The red-head looked disbelievingly at her. 'Are you serious? One walk down the street and you'll come back sporting a broken arm. And besides, I'm not trying to be your bodyguard, don't flatter yourself. Just think it's cool.'

'Cool, huh. Swinging a great big sword around. Yep. Yep.'

But Elesis was already out the door, warming up in the training grounds and sharpening her blade. The girl smiled affectionately at the hard-working red-head – she could be lazy at times but wielding swords was really her forte.

She walked back into the kitchen, making herself a cup of rose tea, the kind that really soothed her after a long day and sipped the hot liquid gratefully. After she downed half of it, she scavenged the cupboards for any signs of breakfast-y foods.

'Gosh,' Arme muttered irritably, fumbling around the positively empty space.

'Elesis! I'm going out to re-buy the food that you stole!'

A guilty 'Okay,' was heard from outside and pushed open the door and walked outside.

Hauling her body into her rusty white truck, Arme revved up the engine, before tearing down the road.

The sky was a pristine white-blue and crisp, shiny leaves spiralled down, a few getting caught on her window before slipping away. The red-brown rooves of the cream houses on her familiar neighbourhood, adjourned by the colourful convenience store signs and glass displays caught in a blurry whirlwind beside her tinted, car window - rushing past her as she descended into the more modern area of skyscrapers and city lights.

She reached a distinct, large shopping mall and parked her truck in the rows of other cars before hopping off and entering the mall. A stern looking man that was dressed in a crisp, navy uniform stopped her in her tracks.

'No dogs allowed, miss.' Mo barked at him. Arme waved her fist once, the expression on her face enough to scare anyone, officer or not and he shrunk back.

'Fine,' he muttered, surrendering.

The air conditioning felt nice against her clammy skin. She shuffled along the throng of people to make her way to the nearest supermarket, until she was struck with an unwavering suspicion that someone was following her.

Turning around swiftly, her eye caught the slightest bit of motion, but she dismissed it. The feeling was getting stronger and stronger, until the hairs on the back of her neck pricked up and she was standing, frozen, unmoving, waiting for something to happen.

And then something did.

The slightest brush on her pocket, not noticeable if she wasn't paying attention.

She whipped her head around and came face to face with a boy. His hair was tousled and silver, almost like the slivers of moonlight that managed to escape the blinds of her room. His eyes were the deepest blue, so perfectly cerulean she wasn't sure they were real. And his mouth was cornered up one edge, a crooked smirk.

Not in the slightest ashamed at all.

Even though she had just been robbed, when those blue eyes met her own violet ones, something happened. It made her head feel warm and fuzzy, like she was one of those dissolving tablets that fizzled down into the water.

She wasn't sure if she liked it or not.

Without a word, he dropped the bills back into her pocket and gave a gesture of apology. Somehow, this irritated her to no end.

This guy stole her money, got caught and now just expects to drop the money back and walk away?

'Hey!' She yelled and caught his arm.

His eyes captured hers and shifted down to her petite hand which was clasped around his wrist. He gave a little strangled gasp.

She turned around and wondered if something happened, but his eyes were fixed, pupils dilated on her wrist. Instinctually, she glanced at it.

_The tattoo. _

The mysterious tattoo that was on her wrist was on his too, an exact replica.

_What the hell?_

He was examining it, his blue eyes fixed in concentration as they darted from his tattoo to hers, putting the pieces together like she had already done.

She opened her mouth to say something, but he beat her to it.

'Come.'

x x x

He ran, guiding her.

Well. She guessed that guiding her was his intention, but to her, it felt more like leaving her behind.

'W-wait up, geez!' She panted, annoyed.

He turned back, not breathless at all and gave her a wide smirk.

'I'm sorry; I forget that I'm faster than people like you.'

She hmphed with irritation and to prove him wrong, pushed more drive and willpower in her running. Unfortunately for her, her equilibrium failed her and she landed headfirst onto the cold floor, her ankle throbbing.

'Ow..' She groaned and got up, wincing as she felt the cartilage pull.

'You sprained it.' He stated matter-of-factly and bent down to touch her swollen ankle. 'Are you always this klutzy?' She glared at him and attempted to get up before plopping back down pathetically.

'N-no.' She lied.

He scrutinized the bruising skin and without a second thought, she felt the wind whistling past her ears she was on his shoulders. Like a kid. Like a three-year-old kid.

'No!' She screamed, kicking with her unhurt left foot. 'Put me down!'

Her attempts were futile and he continued run, darting out of the mall and into the bushland, the green vegetation whipping blurrily past her. The sun flickered, glowing and bright when the trees opened, but dark when they closed.

Her tense body was wary, scared that he might be some psycho, but exhilarated with the prospect that something different might happen.

He approached a large, brick house, knocked on the door and a yawning, blonde-haired elf came out – her eyes widening at the sight of him carrying a stranger on his back. Arme struggled to get out of his grip, sprained ankle or not – no way was she letting him get away with embarrassing her in front of public relations. To her surprise, the girl simply nodded and whispered something to the silver-haired boy. From her expression, Arme could tell she had been teasing him.

'Hope you have fun, Lass!' A catcall came from the top floor and she felt like punching a hole in the wall. Lass, huh? Now she had something to tease him about.

'So..._Lass_,' she remarked once they got to a rather bare, simple room.

'Shush.' His face slightly distorted into a grimace as a loud, 'Lass is _finally_-' cut off by a 'Don't embarrass him!' filled the room.

'Enough about my name,' his eyes twinkled. 'What's yours?'

'Arme. Hi.'

A long, awkward silence followed and the purple-haired girl got up, before remembering that her ankle was sprained. She hissed as she felt the bone crack - the splitting sound echoing through the room and tears spring into her eyes.

'Arme!' He carried her over to a messily made bed and inspected her injury before confirming that indeed, the reckless girl had broken it. 'I'll have to get Ronan over to get it into a cast...' Her eyes widened with fear. That sounded...intimidating. She cursed at herself for destroying her day by breaking her ankle and she cursed Lass for getting this so-called 'Ronan' to fix it.

Her eye caught her ankle that was swollen twice the size of her normal, petite foot and a nonsensical idea made its way into her bleary mind.

She felt silly doing this. Very, very silly.

Directing her vision to a pinpoint in her ankle, she tried to muster up some kind of force to heal it. She had heard stories of human will overcoming obstacles but she felt kind of stupid testing it out on herself. As her eyes adjusted to staring at that single pinpoint, she felt energy in her body, warmth radiating outward, up to the tips of her toes before fading out.

'Um..' Her head felt dizzy for some reason.

'I'm back,' Lass entered the room, followed by a blue-haired, handsome boy who waved a hello.

'Hi,' he said, adorably shy. 'My name's Ronan. You must be...'

'Arme,' she said, feeling slightly woozy by the presence of both Lass _and _Ronan.

Lass noticed the slight blush on her cheeks as Ronan entered the room and somehow, he felt that it bothered him. Right from the beginning, with her defiant eyes and cheeky smile, he felt some kind of weird possessiveness over her. She was somehow...different. But he didn't blame her for falling for Ronan...after all; he was the most sought-after bachelor in town.

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts he didn't see Ronan looking at Arme with a confused expression, his hand on her ankle.

'What's wrong with her?' He asked the blue-haired lad. Arme cocked her head in confusion.

'Lass, you must have gotten it wrong, her ankle is completely...fine...'

Lass gaped at Arme and she shrugged dismissively.

'Arme..' he questioned carefully, looking closely at her foot. 'Did you..._do _anything while I was gone?'

She shook her head furiously, wondering why he would think such a thing, but then stopped midway, thinking hard.

_It couldn't be..._

'Well,' she muttered, a bit embarrassed. 'I tried to do this will-power thing where I stared at my ankle for about 2 minutes?'

She could hear the loud and shocked breath of air that Ronan had let out, warm against her face.

'But I don't think that's the cause,' she added hurriedly, wondering why they both had this peculiar expression plastered to their faces, as if the world had ended, but a miracle had happened.

'Arme,' the whispered in synchronisation - glancing up at her as if their view of her had changed completely in the space of 5 minutes.

'You do magic.' Ronan stated, his whole form seemed to glow with contentment - something that Arme found just the tiniest bit creepy.

'What?' She recoiled, totally baffled by his statement. 'What makes you think I do magic? I'm not a magician, I suck at magic tricks.'

'She's a magician.' Lass repeated.

'And she's barely aware that she is one,' Ronan added, dusting his hands.

'What are you TALKING ABOUT?' Arme was completely confused right now and wondering whether coming to this place was a good idea after all.

Ronan eyed her stomach for a second and his orbs lit up, like an idea had come to him. He ushered Lass into a tight circle where they conversed, Arme's ears straining to pick up pieces of information. It didn't work, all she could hear was hushed whispers.

Arme tapped her foot impatiently, before Lass came and hesitantly started to tickle her sides, zapping her stomach and working his skilled fingers to make her snort with laughter, tears coming to her eyes.

'Y-you..' She managed to yell out, breathless.

'I hope this goes the way I think it will,' Ronan muttered, watching the obscure scene in front of him.

She suddenly felt so inexplicably _angry _right now, that this complete stranger would carry her on his shoulders, take her to this weird house, tell her that she was a _magician _and now? Tickle her to death? How did he even know that she was subjective to zapping?

The more he tickled, the angrier she became, until something in her exploded in pure fury and the warm feeling from before began to course through her veins again. A flaming ball shot out from beneath her fingertips, directed at Lass. He dodged it just in time and she stared, awestruck at the black, singed hole it made in the room.

'It's true.' Ronan breathed. 'She's the first mage we've had in decades!'

'Someone explain to me what the _hell _a mage is.' Her eyes glowed and Ronan backed away a few steps.

'You have the power for black magic and white magic. You use fire, ice and other natural components to combat the evil or heal yourself and others. Mages have the highest attack out of all of us and you would extremely useful if you would join The Grand Chase,' Ronan explained without missing a beat.

Lass nodded.

'Okay...' Arme's head was spinning from this overload of information and she had to sit down to calm herself.

'So..What's The Grand Chase?'

'The Grand Chase is a group consisting of talented fighters, dancers, swordsmen, assassins, magicians, archers-' Arme cut him off and pointed to her head.

'I can't process this much information at once, okay? I've just been told I'm a _magician _or some other crap like that so go easy on the words.'

Ronan looked a tiny bit taken aback and he apologised profusely before continuing.

'Anyway, The Grand Chase is formed to defeat this terrible monster. Kaze'aze? It might ring a bell.'

Something painful stabbed in her heart.

_Kaze'aze. Kaze'aze. Kaze'aze. _

Something right at the edge of memory, but she couldn't figure out what.

'Wait, I can't think without Elesis and-'

_MO!_

'Oh god. My dog!' She screamed hysterically, hyperventilating.

'Sheesh, calm down.' Lass said smoothly, scooping up a white ball of fur and handing it to her.

'Thank _god.' _

Silence followed and Arme was struggling to get a hold of reality and something non-whimsical about all this stuff before she felt a smooth, cold object being placed in her hand.

'I thought you might want to call um...Elesis was it?' The silver-haired boy offered and she smiled at him before opening the phone with trembling hands.

Elesis would like this. The Grand Chase. It would make all her dreams of being a swordswoman come true.

'Hey, what's up?' A familiar voice was just the thing Arme needed and Elesis's one made her tear up.

'El, I need you to come here _right now. _14 Boullie Crescent, Kerrie Beach. Come here, _now_.'

Her voice cracked a bit.

'Please?'

* * *

**a/n: How was it? I'm very tired, so I'll just go to sleep.**

**-R**


	2. Chapter 2: It's A Secret

_**Disclaimer: I don't own GC or any of its rights; I just own my story plot and any other OCs.**_

**a/n: Here you go, chapter two. I'm not gonna lie, this story is killing me. For some reason I keep rewriting and changing things. I swear, I have rewritten this chapter at least 3 times. –boinks herself in the head- Anyway, don't mind me rambling on about randomness. (Non-rational to the extreme.) **

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. m o m e n t o .

The hot, morning sun spilled through the blinds and into the room, casting a warm, silver-gold glow across Arme's cheeks.

Somehow – through the night, Elesis had shoved her over (quite roughly, she must say) until she was sleeping in a horizontal position, her foot getting wedged in the shutters. She dragged her burning foot out of the window and contemplated what to do. Her body was still sweaty from the nightmare she'd had (once again), but the sunlight was making her eyes droop heavily – so she pulled the covers up her head. To fall asleep again comfortably, she would either have to get up and sleep on Lass's bed or push Elesis out of the way.

She opted for the latter.

'Arme, what the hell?' Elesis muttered incomprehensibly as she fell to the carpeted floor with a thud.

They squabbled for a bit before negotiating – none of them would take the bed, instead they would just...stay awake.

'So-'

'Wow.'

Elesis grabbed the new mage's shoulders and jumped up and down, squealing. Arme caught onto the mood quickly and began squealing too, though not as half as enthusiastic as Elesis was.

'I can't believe this.' Arme murmured. 'We've just left home. For some weird fighting place.'

Elesis tutted, smacked Arme's head with a pillow and made her laugh.

'Fighting place? Sounds pretty cool to me.' A huge grin was on her face.

After Elesis had gone to explore the other parts of the house and make friends with the Chase, Arme sat down on her bed to think.

The Grand Chase.

This place was somewhere that Elesis's true potential could blossom and flourish under the care of already experienced fighters – but was it for _her? _Ronan had figured out that she couldn't harness her new power; it only came out if she was angry or emotionally distressed – but he had said that it was bountiful in her veins.

Arme was still unsure of whether she wanted to join the Grand Chase. At these times, she did what she knew best.

Cooking.

A small smile crept its way on her face – almost uncontrollably and she began searching for ingredients.

She made her way into the alien kitchen and rummaged around the contents. To her dismay there wasn't anything that she could use to whip up a quick breakfast for her and The Chase. She figured it might be the best starting foot to use and for her, making friends was no easy task.

Especially last night, when a blue-haired girl had cast her a bitter stare, after catching a glimpse of the tattoo on her wrist.

'Spy,' she whispered and floated - there was no other word to describe how she moved, upstairs to the safety of her bedroom. An icy chill ran down her spine when she heard those words and she fled, not knowing what to say to the stranger.

She shook her head to clear the deluge of memories and at the same time, the white dog leapt from the stairs and into her arms. Mo licked her arms and yelped, tugging her sweatpants.

'...Mo? Why are you going crazy?'

She followed the dog, slowly working her way through the big house till Mo led her to a small glass door. The sunlight pricked in her eyes as she opened it, the wind charm made up of silver chains and opaque beach stones tinkling a friendly, inviting tune.

_Beautiful. _

That was the first word she thought as she entered the thatch of garden.

'W-Wow.'

Sun-kissed peaches littered the dark foliage of the trees, which shaded a patch of ruby-red tomatoes, climbing precariously over the old fence. The dirt here was moist and fertile, she could tell by the rich colour and the lush, green grass that grew in perfect little rows down the entire plot. Stalks of beans, golden corn and little tubs of herbs grew in a line across the fence, purple globe-shaped grapes and gooseberries were hidden in a tiny opening that led to a small, glassy pond.

A red trowel was dug inside a section of flourishing lilies, freesias and patchoulis. An old rickety swing hung – squeaking, yet so temptingly inviting one to sit on it and daydream the day away.

Arme, being the romantic that she was, didn't waste a second.

She plopped herself on the seat and swung her legs, kicking them in the air and letting the sharp fragrances of lily and peach fill her nostrils. She was half way in the air before a strong hand grabbed the chain of the swing, effectively stopping her ride.

'Hey!' She complained and turned around, coming face to face with no other than Lass.

'Are you a kid or something?' He asked and sighed, exasperated. 'What are you doing in my garden?'

Arme's eyes widened, before completely glowing with happiness. 'You made this place? It's beautiful!'

The boy felt the prick of nostalgia overcome him, something felt so familiar about this girl, almost like a memory forgotten, at the tip of his tongue...

His thoughts were instantly disturbed by the loud scream of a certain blonde-haired elf.

'Oh my GOD, what the hell is this...this..._fur-ball _doing on my bed?'

Arme flushed an indignant red and hurried off to help the distressed Elven - with Lass following closely at her heels. Lire could get hysterical sometimes, he wasn't about to risk Arme getting bashed by her wrath.

'I'm sorry,' Arme bowed and scooped up the whining Mo. 'She's my dog and she just wants your attention. She likes making friends.'

Lire's ears pricked at the mention of the word 'dog' and she bounded over and snatched the puppy out of Arme's hands.

'Oooh, you little cutiepie!' She cooed. 'What's her name?'

'Mo.'

'What a cute name! Speaking about names, mine is Lire. You must be Arme right?' Lire put an arm around her like they were best buddies and examined her wrist, the one with the tattoo.

'I'm sure you have a decent explanation for it.' Her tone was friendly and amiable, without a trace of the judgement in that blue-haired-

'Oh Mari?' Lire piped up and Arme backed away startled.

'W-w-w-wait. You can _read _my mind?' Mo yipped as Arme clutched her tightly, but she didn't hear a thing.

Lire chuckled lightly.

'I can if _I want to._' She replied and petted the dog who was delighted at getting so much attention – ignoring the pointed look on the mage's face.

'Okay, I can pry into your mind if I want to, but most of the time I won't. I mean, I respect your privacy and all and considering that there are so much people in the house, it would make me dizzy, with all the voices. So I just block you out, unless I really want to know what you are thinking.'

Wow, all these people really were supernatural freaks. In a good way of course.

'Yeah.' A voice said, slightly annoying.

'Can you get out of my mind now?' She asked as politely as possible and Lire laughed before squinting.

'Mission get out of Arme's mind completed.'

'Thanks.'

Lire shifted her weight from one foot to the other and set Mo down on the floor.

'So, do you know who Kaze'aze is?'

'No,' she answered truthfully. 'But it does strike a chord in me.'

While Lire had been talking about Kaze'aze, she saw Lass's fists clench, the skin pulling scarily over his knuckles. His eyes had narrowed into cold sapphires, and his lips were taut and thin – no resemblance to the teasing but kind boy that she had known the day before.

But she had to focus, focus on herself instead of other people. Elesis always said she had a maternal side, always looking after other people – which would be fine if she didn't forget to take care of _herself._

'...Kaze'aze is in the form of a mechanical dog, but she can disguise herself as a human being.'

Wait a second. Something wasn't right...

'Lire,' she questioned. 'Can you repeat your sentence?'

The blonde looked confused and drawled out the sentence again, while Lass just continued to look as tense as a rubber band being stretched.

'Kaze'aze is in the form of a mechanical dog, but she can-'

'Oh my god, SHIT!' Arme wailed in despair, clutching her wrist with despondency – everything made sense now.

_Mechanical dog. _

Those were the two words that could trigger everything and now that Arme had learned that the enemy that they had been fighting against was the same enemy that her parents had been 'supposedly' killed in...

And then what Mari had said to her on the stairs – calling her a spy – it all started to make sense...before black doubt started to settle in the confines of her head.

'I-if I have the tattoo,' she swallowed thickly and continued, 'doesn't this mean I'm practically someone you have to kill?'

'Look, Arme. It seems to me that you don't have a single clue who Kaze'aze is – I've already done the liberty of scanning your mind the moment you walked in and no traces of spy movements have been spotted. So I can guess you pose no threat to The Grand Chase _and _you're a mage.' Lire spoke soothingly, taking a bottle of soda from the fridge and pouring three fizzing cups.

Arme sipped her soda, the cup shaking in her hands.

'Why does everyone treat me like I'm so special? Just because I'm a...mage?' The word 'mage' still felt foreign on her tongue.

'Because, mages have more chance of killing Kaze'aze, since she's a mage herself. _And _because mages are simply, cool.' Lire had an almost gloating tone to her voice.

'Sure, sure, whatever you say.'

The bubbles fizzled down her throat, the cold liquid somewhat soothing her. She was tempted to ask for another cup, but that would probably end up in sad disappointment.

A glass of new soda was handed to her, by a quaint hand – no other belonging to than Lire.

'Geez, I thought you were going to stay out of my head?' She muttered.

'Sorry. New member, extra scrutinising. You can cook?' Lire hinted not so subtly.

Arme's eyes lit up and she waved a goodbye to Lire, bouncing off to the garden.

The elf watched the purple-haired girl scamper into the vegetation and observed the stony-faced Lass who hadn't taken one sip of his soda – let alone a single movement from the place that he had been standing on.

'So when are you going to tell her?'

His hands clenched.

'About the tattoo?'

Lass shook his head.

'I think it's better for her not to know.'

x x x

After Arme had provided a lavish breakfast of coffee, stewed tomatoes, eggs and bacon rashers – something that had already scored her good points with the guys and the fun-loving pop-star Amy, the Chase went to practice their skills.

She watched them practice. They were good, swift and sleek in movements with effortless lunges as they fought to strike down their opponent – but one person stood out of all of them.

Lass.

Lire told her he was an assassin, but she hadn't expected him to be this fast on his feet, a blur in the air – almost like he had disappeared and come back again. The flashes of blue that came from the friction in his kunais signified how impossibly deadly it would be if one of them cut through the skin.

She turned away from the training grounds, sweat beading on her forehead. The summer sun was hot and sticky, almost like the jelly Elesis had made, wet and sloppy, no gelatine after effects at all.

Opening the fridge, she got out a carton of ice cream – scooped some into a soggy cone and made do.

'Can I have some of your ice cream?' A voice said and before she knew it, her cone slipped out of her hands and was being eaten by none other than the boy she was looking at before.

'Find your own ice-cream, Lass,' she muttered, slightly miffed – an unavoidable blush colouring her cheeks when she looked up and saw that he was shirtless, a light sheen of sweat covering his nicely toned torso.

'So are you joining the Chase?'

'I don't kn-'

She was broken off by a high-pitched, heartbreakingly sorrowful scream, followed by a chorus of curses.

'The raid is starting already?'

'I thought Kaze'aze wasn't attacking till tomorrow!

'We're screwed.'

'What's happening?' Arme whispered, afraid to speak.

'We've got to go.' Lass replied and hauled her on his shoulders again, before speedily dashing out the door – The Chase following closely at his heels.

x x x

'T-this..'

'T-t-this is all _her _work?' She asked Lass, who was staring down at the crumbling, decaying house – the stench of death ripe in the air.

'Yeah.'

All she could see were _bodies. _Innocent, young and old, loved, cared for _bodies. _

Bodies that didn't deserve this.

People who didn't deserve this.

She felt a tear streak down her face and she brushed it away hastily, running to follow the others.

'Lass,' Lire said, placing a hand on his shoulder. 'You've got to tell her or she'll find out sooner or later.'

'I can't.'

'Lass-'

He grabbed the elf's shoulders and shook her, pain clearly in his azure eyes.

'Do you remember the day I was here?' His voice cracked and before she could speak, he continued.

'I was wracked with guilt, wracked with self-hate. But...but she doesn't even _remember!_'

Lire's voice was hard when she spoke. 'Do you want to keep it that way? If _I _was a _killer,_' she emphasised the word 'killer' a bit too much for Lass's liking and he growled. 'If I was a killer, I don't think I'd like to be kept in the dark about what my identity was.'

'That's because you don't know a smidgen about how a _killer_ feels.'

They stared at each other for a long, tense moment before Lass's eyes softened when he shifted his gaze towards the purple-haired girl in the distance, who was trying to help as much as she could.

'Look at her,' he murmured, pointing to Arme. 'So innocent, so alive. I don't want _anyone _to go through what I went through.'

'She has a right to know and how do you think she would feel if she found out what you were hiding from her? The more you linger, the more painful it will be.'

'I don't want to tell Arme.'

A purple head popped up between their shoulders, her own panting with exertion and curiosity sparking in her eyes.

'You don't want to tell me what?'

* * *

**a/n: Yey, cliffie! I have a tad too many ideas for this story, in my opinion, so I'll try to insert some into oneshots. Ladidida. :D  
School is starting soon, so I'll be updating not as often, but in the most, 2 months. Regularly, one month. I'm sorry! I'll try my best, but in the meantime, thanks a zillion for the reviews. You guys are awesome. **

**-R**


	3. Chapter 3: Bring Me Back To Life

_**Disclaimer: I don't own GC or any of its rights, I just own my story plot and any other OCs.**_

**a/n: All I can say is - sorry for the late update! Thanks for the reviews again and I hope you keep following my story! Gah it's late...zzZZZzzz...;3**

* * *

. m o m e n t o .

Her head whirled.

Something strangled and pitiful seemed to be lodged in a compartment of her throat – quite uncomfortable, but when she tried to get it out – it seemed like it had gone thicker, more substantial in size.

She couldn't breathe.

She tried to cry, but only succeeded in a few miserable blinks then failure.

_You're a killer._

What was that feeling before when she had seen what Kaze'aze had done?

Anger.

Now it was directed fully at herself.

'I-I've got to go.' She rasped at the horrified, unblinking Lass who had been taken by surprise when Lire had jumped in and told her everything.

_I've got to go._

x x x

'Lire...' Lass's voice was cold, steely and most of all – threatening - as he advanced towards the cowering Elven.

The Chase disbanded one of the harpies that they had been killing off and scattered around the two, wanting to know what had happened.

'Look what you did.' He whispered, not really believing it himself, only trying to make this the least painful for her as possible. 'Why the _hell _would you tell her?'

'Why are you so _worried _about her? She can make it through. She's tough.'

'What do _you _know about her? Didn't you see her last night? She was shaking and crying in her SLEEP - damn it.' Lass's frame shook with fury.

The shocked gasps of the Chase echoed around the now barren battlefield, the new discovery that the novice they had acquired was in fact – a killer for Kaze'aze.

'This doesn't have to be a bad thing,' Ronan murmured hurriedly, trying to keep peace in all the controversy. 'Lass was one and look where he ended up – the best assassin in the continent.'

'Oh shut up – peacemaker,' the blue-haired girl muttered, a malicious tone to her voice.

'Mari, calm down. Don't put another one of your famous grudges against the new member.'

'I'll be sure that I don't.' Her voice was riddled with irony.

Elesis was swept with confusion and the first deadly pangs of hurt, questions queasily making their way into her mind as she tried to make sense of what had happened.

Arme – the kind, short, fun-loving, caring, clumsy and stubborn girl that she absolutely loved...was a _killer?_

She refused to believe it.

And even if it was true, she didn't care.

At times like these, Elesis was as decisive and as prideful as a rock – so you could be sure that if she set her mind to what she wanted, she would – easily so – get it.

And what she wanted now was to protect her best-friend.

'No matter what you say,' the red-head spoke up suddenly, her eyes set in grim determination and loyalty.

'No matter what you do..'

'I'm always on Arme's side. And if it means I have to give up the Chase, I'll do it in a heartbeat.'

x x x

Amongst all the chaos and tension, the wounded purple-haired mage sat in front of the mirror back at the house, brooding and inflicting self-hate on the reflection in the pane of glass.

_Did she even know who she was anymore?_

She was a studious, hard-working girl – honest with herself, honest with her opinions. So what she truthfully thought of herself right now wasn't a very pretty sight.

Glaring at the violet-eyed, matted haired girl that stared back at her – her face sallow with tiredness – she suddenly had the instinctive urge to _do something, _something that would fix this whole, crapped up mess that she had been thrown in.

That's when she spotted the gleaming flash of silver on the edge of the sink – sharp edged and positively calling out to her.

In a trance, she picked up the device, which was in fact a pair of scissors and unknowingly began to slice through the air, snapping it together and then apart again and again.

Then in one mad flurry of an attack, she managed to chop a tiny piece of her lilac locks off.

That led to another snip.

_Killer._

Another sliver of hair came flying off into the white basin.

_You are...a murderer. _

Snip. Snip.

_You don't belong in the Grand Chase._

She cut her hair furiously, tears blinding her vision, not knowing what she was doing until Elesis opened the door and gasped in surprise, finding the mage sobbing and broken – lying in a pile of her own purple ringlets.

'Arme!'

_Go...go away!_

She was furious, at what, she didn't know – but since Elesis was the first living object in sight she directed all her bubbling anger to the red-head and thrashed, kicked and punched her – tears spilling down her face – mouth wailing with pain – her whole form trembling with some kind of dark energy.

And suddenly, something burst inside her.

Something cold, something sinister, _something _that had been brewing inside her since birth.

And before she could even try to stop it, a pulsing, dark ball of energy shot out from her fingertips and into...

...Elesis.

The last thing she heard before slipping into comfortable darkness was a shrilling, heartbreaking scream.

x x x

'What did you find?' Lass's hard, unwavering voice pierced the thick silence – something that everyone found disorientating.

'I'm still searching...' Ronan muttered, head bent in concentration – wondering how he got into this tangled mess.

A small, rectangular bed was on the side of the room, sheets barely covering a sleeping Arme, who had been tossing and turning the whole time she had been knocked out.

'We've got to find out what she is.' The blue-haired girl stated and shot a distasteful look at the mage. 'She could be a potential danger to all of us – you saw the energy that she possesses. And it's not black magic, _nor _white magic.'

Ronan scratched his head.

'W-w-what's happening...?' A slight croak broke the stillness and they all whipped their heads around.

'_Arme?'_

'Geez, you guys sure are great friends,' Elesis muttered, slightly annoyed but not enough to rage a rampage, her head as still woozy from the attack.

But no one paid heed to the red-head when Ronan jumped out of his chair, backing to the wall of the room – eyes wide in terror and at the same time respect, at the girl who was still sleeping soundly.

'_What?_' Lass grabbed the collar of shirt and shook him.

'S-s-s-she..' His voice trembled.

'Ronan, spit it out already.' Mari sighed.

'D-dark magic...' he breathed and the blue-orbed girl stiffened noticeably.

'No. Way.' She answered and walked out of the room, coming back with a knife in her hand and a hard expression.

'She shouldn't be allowed to live. She _shouldn't._'

Mari pressed the edge of the blade onto the smooth ivory neck of the girl but was pinned back to the wall by Lass's fast, strong hands – his kunais deep inside the edges of her sleeves.

She kicked and struggled, but no avail.

'Wait.'

A weak voice broke Mari's usually uncanny concentration for one second, but that was enough.

'So what if she has...dark magic? Isn't it the same as black magic?' Elesis asked, hobbling up.

'Completely different.' Mari hissed and lunged forward to the sleeping mage but was blocked by the redhead.

She was physically stronger than her so Mari stopped struggling and sighed.

'Dark magic is something that a very small amount of people possess. And usually...they join Kaze'aze's side. After all, Kaze'aze does dark magic – so it means that Arme is related to her by blood in some way. '

A thick silence followed and a small but audible cough came from the bed.

'Oh my god, Arme, did you hear that?' Elesis panicked but was met by a whack on the head by Mari.

'I-I'm related to Kaze'aze.'

A long, perturbed silence followed before someone's sobs started to develop, the poisonous weeds burying themselves into Elesis's mind.

'D-d-d-ark...magic...'

A strangled hiccup tore its way out of Arme's mouth.

'Everyone GO!' Ronan's desperate voice cried as he tried to usher them out of the door. 'She can't control the magic yet!'

The attack that followed took them by bewildered surprise.

A vivid, luminous light shone through the room and they each felt a sense of tranquilly and calm being threaded through each of their beings. Elesis noticed the ugly, bruised scar on her forearm healing with every notch the brightness went up.

It seemed to be radiating out of Arme's chest.

'Is this...' Lass coughed and the light flickered – licking the bare walls of the room before dimming and fading out completely.

'The dark version of heal?' Elesis offered unhelpfully.

'I think that's pretty much it,' Ronan said and then a huge smile lit up his face.

'We can use her power to destroy Kaze'aze.' Lass guessed what Ronan was thinking and the blue-haired lad nodded hyperactively.

The mage focussed on what he was saying – frantic for a chance to feel better about her newly found skills.

'The reason why we haven't been able to kill Kaze'aze all this time – it's so clear to me now! It's because we haven't got some of her _own _power – dark magic – to defeat her!'

Elesis found herself nodding to the hypothesis they had summed up while Lass was glaring darkly at the 2 knights.

'Really,' he shot back and folded his arms. 'You would risk her life for that?'

'She's not going to die, Lass.'

'Sure – what did that website say? Use dark magic 5 times and perish?'

Arme's eyes widened considerably and she lifted herself off the bed to shoot down a few popup ads on the computer and find the website.

'B-but,' she croaked unattractively and cleared her throat. 'I've already used it twice..'

Mari smiled for the first time. It seemed to light up all her features and Arme would have suggested she smile more if she wasn't feeling so crappy.

'You just need to control your temper and you'll be fine! Ronan's reasoning makes perfect sense.'

Lass growled and stomped out of the room, muttering things under his breath.

'You get some sleep now,' Elesis ordered and her eyes softened at the vulnerability the mage had on her face.

'Don't think about it.' The red-head sighed and smoothed down her unruly hair. 'It might actually come to be used for the greater good.'

The doubtful look on the purple-haired girl's face indicated that she was thinking the opposite.

'Here,' she passed a black device into the palm of Arme's sweaty palm.

'My iPod!'

The knight gave a sheepish half-smile.

'It might help take the dreams away,' she offered and quietly slipped out of the room.

Arme clasped the iPod to her chest and plugged in the pristine earphones – turning up the music to full volume. The beat soared – loud and clear in her already ringing ears.

She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to fall asleep, cocooning herself in a swath of blankets and pillows – wishing that just for _one night, _the dreams would disappear.

But no amount of heavy death metal would allow her to forget about the ache in her heart.

x x x

She woke up abruptly in the middle of the night – sweating profusely and reluctant to go back to sleep.

'Hi.'

Jumping back, she groaned she realised it was just Lass.

'You know,' he started and eyed her like he was contemplating about whether he should tell her something or not.

'I forgot to tell you but, we have school in about – 2 hours and 43 minutes.'

Arme could have hit him right then and there.

'You are kidding me.'

'Does it look like I'm kidding y-'

Lass got cut off by a zooming, frantic Arme that was muttering a long string of profanities and curse words – hunting for her creased uniform.

'God dammit,' she shouted at the closet when it refused to open, kicking the ebony wood and effectively stubbing her toe.

Words that shall not be named came out in a fierce deluge.

'Um,' Lass tried to say but was interrupted by a red and huffing face.

'School is starting TODAY, and no-one told me. INSTEAD, you chose to ramble on about me being a possessor of dark magic _AND, _you didn't tell me that I was a - ' she swallowed thickly and pronounced the word with extra care.

'Killer.'

Something in her body collapsed and she sat down on the ground – her head in her hands.

'I still can't believe...' she mumbled and hoarse, muffled sobs ripped out of her throat.

'That's why I didn't tell you,' he said simply and she punched him in the arm.

'I'm _angry _that you didn't tell me,' she growled and got up silently – already ashamed at her sudden breakdown.

'It's okay to cry you know –'

'Shut up.'

He obeyed and watched her get ready.

Lass had never seen anyone so..._dedicated _to something as crazy and stupid as school.

He watched her iron out her uniform and pin some little Arme-y personality traits into the way she wore it, tucking her skirt in and securing her hair with a little velvet headband.

She folded a cute beret into her backpack and an adorable pucker in her eyebrows formed when she realised she hadn't eaten any breakfast and the Chase members would be awake soon.

'Jesus,' she muttered.

Pondering for a long moment, she came up with a solution.

Multitasking.

She boiled a pot of water and threw some sticks of pasta in – while checking her schedule and organising her books. While creating a herb-infused sauce and draining the pasta – she chatted to him about random things, about how the sky looked in the morning, about the smell of light rain on the pavement...

He nodded and 'hmmm'ed while she talked, observing the way she smiled and the way her hands seemed to be so dextrous while cooking – yet so clumsy when she wasn't.

'Morning!' A cheerful Amy sauntered in followed by a shyer Jin – their eyes immediately lighting up at the plates of pasta set neatly around the table.

A file of Chase members streamed into the dining area – talking and laughing.

She simply watched them.

This was why she loved to cook – she adored the happiness it brought people.

When they piled into the squishy car – conversations began to run freely throughout the members and she just watched the lanes of trees and houses rush past her face – the wind whipping lightly in her violet locks making her close her eyes.

Her face fell once when someone mentioned how lucky they were to have acquired a mage and something bitter got stuck in her throat.

But then the moved onto a lighter topic and she was able to adjust her brain to focus on the scenery and the light dusting of pink that was gradually fading away in the sky.

'Hey, Arme!' Elesis's voice yelled in her ear. 'Why so quiet?'

'I was just thinking,' she murmured – blushing slightly, 'How this almost feels like family.'

'We _are_ family!' A raucous voice implied and everyone laughed.

'I just never...had one before, I guess,' she muttered – flushed to reveal such a hidden part of herself.

Then conversation then switched to something else, but Arme couldn't help but feel light and buoyant as they zoomed past the busy freeway.

_We _are_ family. _

* * *

**a/n: I saw the 12 reviews I got and I was so happy – but then I was like – 'Oh dang, I have to update now.' But its okay, because I love you guys. :D  
So, I'm sorry if this chapter switches moods a bit too abruptly, I was tired so...:3 Super sorry for this late update – I was caught up in so many assignments! Every time I **_**think **_**about my English paper I get shivers. Anyway – keep reviewing! I get warm and fuzzy inside when you do! :) **

**-R**


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